Blind-and-deaf Spinner has been with us for several years, and has always lived in our own house. She's one of the few dogs who also has 'overnight privileges,' i.e., getting to sleep in the house at night. (Too many dogs = not enough sleep.) Even Widget sleeps in one of the cottages at night because, well, she's a party Beagle who loves to woo-woo-woo at our bedroom door at 3 a.m. (When you sleep all day, 3 a.m. is as good a time as any to start a party.)
But Spinner has always been a quiet girl with impeccable house-training habits, and she will sleep right through the night in the living room and never stir.
So even though she is in the house all the time, she had never … until last week … been a "table dog" — the kind who hangs out at the lunch and dinner table, waiting for us to offer a morsel. (Or, in Widget's case, simply doing her best to steal food off the table.) Thus we were surprised when she suddenly appeared at the table one lunch-time several days ago, sitting quietly next to me with an expectant look on her face.
How she figured out what the routine was at the table I don't know. Being blind and deaf and relying totally on smell to know what's going on, I'm not sure how she realized that some other dogs were getting treats from the table. But she did figure it out, and now she never misses a mealtime!
I took that photo above of her at lunch yesterday. Oddly, what you don't see in the photo are the other dogs milling around the table or underneath the table … Widget, Callie, Goldie, Bailey and at least a couple more in the mix somewhere. I think most of them were to the right of Alayne, who was sitting in the chair that the coat is on, while Widget was on my left.
Spinner also doesn't feel the need to be competitive for food … even when she can tell someone next to her is getting something and she hasn't yet, she patiently waits for her turn. Unlike the others, she doesn't paw at us or howl at us for our food, let alone try to steal it. (Widget: Please note.) In short, she has wonderful table manners and is the kind of guest you'd like to invite back for another meal. Except, of course, she invites herself.
—
I wrote a post back in August reporting that Spinner had developed seizures. She had been doing very well in recent months, but last night she had her first seizure in several weeks. She was on a cot in the living room when we heard her begin clawing at the bed, and we knew exactly what was starting. We got her on the floor and I sat there and cradled her until it passed.
Rolling Dog Farm Blog 
Leave a reply to Shirley * James * Portland, OR Cancel reply